Schnieders Capital Management LLC Sells 16,855 Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO)

Schnieders Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 34,870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,855 shares during the quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $2,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley increased its position in Coca-Cola by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 80,448,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,503,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950,146 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Coca-Cola by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 63,138,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,501,789,000 after buying an additional 2,464,618 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Coca-Cola by 4.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 44,913,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,514,234,000 after buying an additional 2,040,664 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Coca-Cola by 8.2% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 25,845,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,446,822,000 after buying an additional 1,963,963 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its position in Coca-Cola by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 13,804,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $813,523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,949,500 shares during the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Coca-Cola Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE KO traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.64. 13,687,837 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,898,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $64.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $59.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.72. The company has a market cap of $261.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.59.

Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.01. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business had revenue of $10.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.45 EPS. Coca-Cola’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.485 dividend. This is a boost from Coca-Cola’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Coca-Cola’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In related news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total transaction of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $13,594,097.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Coca-Cola news, insider Bruno Pietracci sold 18,551 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.41, for a total transaction of $1,102,114.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nancy Quan sold 57,368 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.87, for a total value of $3,491,990.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,594,097.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 375,407 shares of company stock worth $22,795,742. Insiders own 0.97% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KO. Barclays lifted their price objective on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Coca-Cola from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Coca-Cola from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.09.

About Coca-Cola

The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores.